Aug. 21, 2009
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa.-- The No. 12/6 Penn State women's soccer team opened the 2009 season with a 1-0 win over the No. 9/11 Virginia Cavaliers on Friday night at Jeffrey Field. Danielle Toney (Northville, Mich.) scored a goal in the seventh minute, while Alyssa Naeher (Seymour, Conn.) had four saves for the shutout. The game, seen by 3,098 in attendance, was the second-largest crowd in stadium history.
Steady midfield play was the theme of the evening as Penn State (1-0) held off countless attacks by Virginia (0-1), while capitalizing on a great run by Toney for the win.
Toney received a beautiful through ball clearance from Maura Ryan (Doylestown, Pa.) just past half field and jetted by a Cavalier defender and snuck one past Chantel Jones into the lower left side of the net for the 1-0 lead just 6:30 into the game. It was Toney's second opportunity on net, hitting the post two minutes into the match.
Virginia roared right back as Meghan Lenczyk, Sinead Farrelly and Colleen Flanagan all got shots on goal, but were stonewalled by Naeher. All the UVa shots were minutes after the PSU tally.
Toney had another one-on-one with Jones, who came up big with a save to keep the score to 1-0.
The Cavaliers had another excellent opportunity in the 37th minute when Caroline Miller's shot was blocked by Naeher, but the senior All-American was up to the task. Toney got another shot off on Jones just before halftime, but again couldn't find the back of the net.
When the two teams rejoined the play in the second half, the offensive opportunities hit a standstill. There were no serious opportunities until Miller's shot was blocked in the penalty area as the Virginia contingent were calling for a hand ball that was not awarded in the 72nd minute.
From there on out, Penn State turned the match around, regaining its offensive edge and finding open spaces in the Virginia defense. Open shots by Toney and a missed shot by Alli Rago (Greenwich, Conn.) nearly doubled the lead late in the game, but the offensive pressure kept the Cavaliers away from Penn State's net, providing a well-deserved 1-0 win.
The Cavs held a 17-9 edge in shots, but only four Virginia attempts made it on net. Penn State made its shots count, getting six on frame, five of them from Toney, who gave the UVa defense fits all night.
Virginia was easily frustrated by PSU's defense, getting caught for seven offsides calls, but earned seven corners to Penn State's three.
The game, dubbed "Be Loud, Be Proud, The Largest Crowd" fell just short of the mark of 3,208 set in 2006 vs. UCLA. Nevertheless, a raucous crowd of 3,098 made its presence felt and help lift Penn State to a season opening win. It was still the second-best showing in Jeffrey history.
The Nittany Lions will be back in action on Saturday when they face West Virginia at Jeffrey Field for the Penn State Invitational. Game time is set for 7:30 p.m., while Connecticut and Brigham Young open the proceedings at 5:00 p.m.
For complete coverage of all the Nittany Lion soccer this season, go to www.GoPSUsports.com/sports/w-soccer.
Follow Penn State women's soccer on Twitter: www.twitter.com/PSUWomensSoccer.
--NITTANY LIONS--